It is interesting that you mention Long’s use dialect, Rosina, because that was one of the things that felt a bit artificial to me in The Perils of Pleasure, but I didn’t feel knowledgeable enough to judge whether it was as inauthentic as it seemed to me, so I didn’t mention that in my review of the book.

Victoria — I don’t mean to oversell the mystery: we know pretty much all along who the bad guy is and what he wants, but I did think the suspense piece was handled well.

I hadn’t seen that before, and so I had thought there may have been a kind of unspoken tradition that authors don’t really critique each other outside of established channels (critique partners, etc.).

[Of course, even if there was this kind of unspoken tradition, there might still be questions. Not all traditions are good ones.]

If it happens all the time, then I was wrong to suggest otherwise (and the “hmmm”, was my way of remarking that it seemed unusual). My own academic field is similar: bloggers critique their peers’ published work all the time, regardless of whether they were ever solicited by the authors to review a draft, or by a journal or press editor to peer review it.

Thanks very much for your visit and clarification.

Kristie and Marisa — Thanks for the comments. Although my blogger friends tell me I am “bleeding page rank”, it’s not painful at all. Quite the contrary: even with these little book reviews, I’m absolutely compelled to put my own bit in context!

For the sake of clarification: do you mean you are unsure about the validity of one author analyzing or commenting on another author’s work, unless it’s solicited? It seems to me that this happens all the time. Authors review and comment on other author’s work in the same way that an actor will comment about a movie or play she hasn’t been in. There’s a professional way to do this, of course.

In my case I often post about language issues in novels, as this is where my professional and publishing backgrounds overlap. The intent is to provide some perspective for aspiring authors who are trying to establish their own approach and voice, and still struggle with basics. The author herself may or may not see it, the same way she may or may not see a review printed in a local paper.

I do like this author’s work, and I agree she writes very well. My point (and it still stands) is that the short cuts she takes representing dialects detract from the otherwise high quality of her novels.

I’ve enjoyed Ms. Long’s books for a while now and Beauty and the Spy was no exception.